The Adventure of the Nakunaru
by Bottou-chan
Summary: Pre-UBS III, Kurei and his Uruha set out to find a legendary lost madougu... and find an adventure that was more than they bargained for!
1. The Adventure of the Nakunaru Ch 1

**The Adventure of the Nakunaru**

**By Bottou-chan**

_Author's Note: _

Well, it's July 16th, which for some reason, puts me in a writing mood! I have the sneaking suspicion it's someone's birthday, so perhaps that's why. (Unless, of course, my memory is horribly faded, as I've remarked upon my senility before. ^_^) 

This story is based upon the germ of an idea I had 'way back when. However, Natsumi commented that she was going to write a story that used some of the elements I'd planned on incorporating… so I let it slide… and the story never appeared… and I was getting ready to write it again… and then someone else actually *did* start writing a story that used some of the elements I'd planned on writing. So I left the story idea on the shelf because I didn't want to seem horribly derivative, and used the basic premise in its most general sense as a PBEM RPG, which was quite fun and very different from what I would have written on my own… in case some things look rather familiar to those who were kind enough to participate. ^_^ 

So, I guess I'll never know exactly how this story would have turned out had I written it when I originally wanted to, but this is how it looks now! 

Enjoy, and Happy Birthday, Chris! :o) 

An aerial photo, remarkably clear and crisp, was projected upon the oversized screen hanging on the wall. It showed a region quite given over to rice paddies and other agricultural pursuits, although there were still massive stretches of wooded areas and forest. There were occasional clearings, where isolated dwellings or tiny villages laid claim to the land. There was a thin blue ribbon, which was a river winding its way to the far-distant sea; there were several thinner brownish-gray ribbons, which were undoubtedly roads in various states of upkeep. 

"Oi, I didn't think there was so much of Japan left unpaved," remarked Joker. His legs cramped from being folded under the conference table for too long, so he unfolded them and planted his heels firmly on the tabletop as a preemptive strike against aching joints. "Better keep this location a secret, ne?" 

No one bothered to reply to his comment, although there was an exasperated "Huhhhh!" huffed under Mikoto's breath. Everyone knew that the sole reason that the area had been spared from the developers' predations, and the relentless spread of suburbia, was because ninety-five percent of the forestlands projected upon the screen were owned by the Kokom Corporation. Naturally, it was billed as a nature preserve, dedicated as a refuge for Japan's increasingly crowded indigenous wildlife; just as naturally, such an innocent, wholesome-sounding front for a much more practical purpose which held much more interest for Mori Kouran than did the red-crowned crane or the butterfly _Fabriciana nerippe_. 

Kurei eyed him stonily for his unasked-for levity, then returned his gaze to the map flattened beneath two long panes of glass upon the table. 

"Here is the scroll which was unearthed from the ancient site of the Hokage village," he said distantly. "It's perhaps four hundred years old—" his own eyes had easily marked the identifying characteristics of centuries past, and so he placed it with confidence "---but refers to some items much older than that, dating back to the days of the greatest madougu blacksmiths. It is part of an inventory, items which were hidden upon the invasion of the Oni. When he began his march, destroying the various ninja clans which he feared, the Hokage hid their madougu to prevent looting. While it is doubtful that any of the Oni's men would be able to tap into a fraction of the potential power available, my ancestors took no risks. Inventories such as these were drawn up to serve as a record of what was dispersed, and where. They were sealed inside jars, which were hidden in strategic locations. If there were survivors, or if the Hokage carried the day, they would be able to relocated the jars and retrieve their madougu. As it happened, there were no survivors." 

He avoided looking at Raiha, whose face bore an imperturbable mask. 

"But, Kurei-sama," said Mikoto, leaning forward and planting her elbows on the table, "What if the jars were found? Wasn't that a rather clumsy way to go about doing it?" 

"The issue at hand isn't whether or not it was a wise decision. It was certainly a successful tactic, no matter how one looks at it--- seeing that the Oni's men never retrieved a one, and we've only been able to find a comparative handful of the number of madougu ever created, even though we know what we're looking for." 

Mikoto nodded, but still didn't seem too impressed by the tactics of the ancient Hokage. 

"Some of these madougu on this list have been discovered already… the Taishaku Kaiten being held by monks in a certain temple; the Fukyo Waon being hidden in a small cave near the river. Others are only minor, and are not of strategic enough importance to pursue at this point in time. One of them, however, has caught Mori Kouran's eye, and it is his command that we spare no expense or effort in locating it." 

By now, all five of the Uruha gathered at the table were leaning forward, listening intently. 

"There is one weapon called the Nakunaru, which allows the wielder to travel through time and space." 

"Isn't that what—" began Neon, but Kurei spoke over her words. 

"This madougu was known in my time. It was created by Akeno, the protégé of the great madougu blacksmith, Kaima. However, it was sealed away and never used, deemed too powerful and dangerous to be wielded lightly. The madougu is known to turn upon its master, if it does not deem its master worthy enough, and several deaths have been attributed to those who were too confident in their own elite abilities. Consequently, it was in disuse for many decades after its initial manufacture, too dangerous to use, but too precious to destroy. While it emulates the time travel spell which brought me to this time and place, it has the added bonus of not exacting a price from the user, such as cursing them with immortality. Presuming, of course, that the user is deemed worthy of the weapon by the weapon." 

"Figures," said Joker, who was trying to read the scroll upside-down from his vantage point; his feet were planted on the floor. "Of course, Mori-han wants the dangerous one." 

"So, what's the point of us being here?" asked Mikoto bluntly, gesturing to herself, Jisho, Joker, Neon, and Raiha. "Tell the archaeologists Mori's got on his payroll to go dig it up themselves. They can handle it. We're not here to do paperwork and research, y'know. If we were fit for office jobs, we'd have found a more conventional line of work to go into." 

At this, the tiniest glimmer of a smile flickered across his lips. "Ah, you see, here's the interesting part. None of Aikano's other works have survived, to this point. However, Aikano was the protégé of Kaima, if you remember correctly. And it was Kaima who was responsible for your madougu… your Fukyo Waon, your Raijin, your Taishaku Kaiten, your Mikoto." 

Jisho seemed as though he was about to ask why *he* was there, as the original manufacturer of his blades seemed to be quite the mystery, but then thought better of it. He was hardly thrilled at the idea of going out and joining the archaeologists, to dig around in the dirty and do who-knew-what. But it appeared to be a prestigious assignment, and he was loyal to Kurei. If Kurei needed his help in tracking this elusive madougu, Jisho would be there to aid him. 

"It is my theory that there would be enough similarities between the manufacture techniques of master and student that perhaps the Nakunaru might react to the presence of your madougu. Perhaps you will sense the voices of your weapons, to which you each are best attuned to hear, and they will lead you to the correct spot. In addition, you have the added bonus of knowing full well about the nature of madougu. Our team of scientists, historians, and archaeologists, clever though they are, have not been burdened with the knowledge of the true nature of their work. While a drawback at some times, it is, in the end, a definite advantage." 

"So, do we plan on hiking over every square kilometer on the map, waiting for the voices inside our heads to alert us?" inquired Joker casually. "Or is the scroll a little more specific?" He had given up on trying to read the cramped, hasty, faded writing upside-down. 

"It is hidden in a shrine to Amaterasu," said Kurei calmly. 

"Now, that's specific," said Mikoto, rolling her eyes. Amaterasu was probably one of the most popular goddesses in the Shinto pantheon. 

Raiha coughed gently, then spoke up. "Kurei-sama, do you know--- from past experience--- to which shrine the scroll refers? For example, is this a temple shrine that is still intact? Is it a ruined shrine? Would it be a small, private shrine within someone's home?" 

Kurei shook his head. He clicked once on the remote, and the projected image changed. Several red lines, green circles, and blue triangles were now superimposed over the aerial photograph. 

"This blue triangle—" he indicated it with his laser pointer "—indicates the center of the archaeological excavations, the Field House. This is the nerve center for all of Kokom's work in the area. It is currently on the outskirts of what was once the Hokage village." This seemed to be a largeish area encompassed by a meandering red line in no discernable shape, off to one side. "These three villages here—" and he indicated three tiny modern-day villages mostly obscured by the tiny blue triangles "—existed even back in the day of the Hokage, though of course, not in their current form. Much of everything of significance was burned during the Oni's relentless march. However, it may be that there was a shrine to Amaterasu, perhaps a great shrine, which everyone in the area would immediately think of over all others, rendering specificity unnecessary." 

"And you don't remember yourself?" asked Mikoto breezily. 

Kurei gazed coldly at her. "My mother and I did not make a habit of temple-visiting, especially towards the end." 

Mikoto didn't seem too ruffled by his ice. 

"Well, it's not much to go on, and I'm not too impressed. Hopefully, the archaeologists are sitting on a giant piece of the puzzle, and they just don't know it. There's only one way to find out. Maybe we can get this over with, and get on to more important tasks." 

"Important tasks are the ones I assign you to, Mikoto." 

She opened her mouth to respond to that, but closed it with a snap. Perhaps it was better that way. 

"You're all dismissed. Be ready to leave tomorrow. Eight o'clock." 

He turned on his heel and left; the rest of the Uruha rose quickly and bowed acknowledgment. The door shut behind him, and the five crowded around for a good view of the map, right-side up this time. 

"If we find it," grumbled Mikoto, under her breath, "I hope he tries to use it, and the thing gets him, too."

~ to be continued~


	2. The Adventure of the Nakunaru Ch 2

**The Adventure of the Nakunaru**

** Ch. 2**

**By Bottou-chan**

The head scientist was a thin, bespectacled man with a perpetually-rumpled appearance, a cheerful demeanor, and a penchant for mixing brightly colored ties with white lab coats. Dr. Aizawa was expecting them and arrived to greet them as soon as their car rolled to a stop in the grass next to the dig's other vehicles. 

"Welcome, welcome!" he said, rubbing his hands together as though washing them, watching them squeeze out of the car and stretch cramped limbs. "I hope your trip was uneventful?" 

"Quite," said Neon, popping the trunk. She slung Mikoto's suitcase carelessly into the dust, but set Raiha's down more gently. 

"We're always pleased for the chance to show our progress to the Kokom Corporation," Dr. Aizawa said cheerfully. 

"The welcoming committee's rather on the small side," remarked Mikoto, not looking at him as she was busy glaring daggers at Neon while retrieving her suitcase and brushing it off. 

"You'll be able to meet the rest of the staff this evening," said the doctor, unperturbed. "But I do want to get you oriented to the site, so you don't get lost, and I do want you to feel free to begin conducting your independent research as soon as you're settled. Nothing like some good, honest work to get your appetite going! You'll be quite pleased with our cook!" 

Jisho quirked an eyebrow at the "good, honest work" comment, but declined to draw attention to it. Instead, he hoisted a large, heavy trunk over his shoulder and balanced it precariously. "Where does our stuff go?" he grunted. 

Dr. Aizawa goggled at him slightly, impressed by his show of strength, but recovered and quickly led the group into the Field House to their two rooms. 

The Field House was no vacation resort, but it was comfortable and functional enough. The ground floor was given over to laboratories, the kitchen, the library, and other such useful common rooms. The second floor was primarily designated for sleep. For the duration of the Uruha visit, the scientists had compressed their sleeping quarters enough to allow Raiha, Jisho, and Joker a room for the three of them, and Neon and Mikoto their own bedroom to share. 

They were sitting in the library with refreshments, chit-chatting comfortably, when the Doctor turned the conversation towards the Hokage. 

"They're such a fascinating subject. I'm sure there's plenty about them that we still are unaware of," Dr. Aizawa gushed. "We're always discovering new finds--- we found an excellently-preserved sandal the other day! We were rather surprised, you know, as organic fibers rarely tend to last very long, especially with all the moisture in this area--- rice paddies and all--- but the conditions were just right, by a total fluke of fate! We're busy stabilizing it so it will be safe to transport, but it's a real find." 

"How interesting!" murmured Neon, feigning interest. She sipped her tea delicately, and Dr. Aizawa beamed at her, pleased that he had found a kindred spirit. 

"What about madougu?" asked Mikoto, with a directness that caused her teammates to inwardly flinch, though they outwardly showed no signs that this was anything but natural progression of the conversation. 

"They're quite unique to the Hokage," replied Dr. Aizawa promptly. "Haven't seen anything like them at all. Many are obviously weapons--- ceremonial weapons, perhaps, though many show signs of use. Others it can be difficult to judge, as they have the distinctive orb inscribed with a character of some sort, but it can be difficult to determine their original purpose. I must say, I rather wish the Hokage had been more literate, and had left a greater written record. But ninja are naturally given over to secrecy, and you can't expect them to write down everything they knew. It would go against their nature and I'd have to admit, I'd be quite suspicious. Still, it's an irretrievable loss to history. I rather think that if we found the clue to the madougu's original purpose, they would have quite an interesting story to tell. But I suppose we still have ten, twenty, thirty more years' worth of research before the Hokage ever become anywhere near mainstream." 

"Oh? How long has the Field House been operational? As in, how long have you been working on the Hokage site?" inquired Neon, glaring at Mikoto and steering the conversation back into more roundabout topics. It wouldn't do to stress the importance of madougu so early on in the conversation. It might be suspicious. 

"We started about ten seasons ago, I'd say," Dr. Aizawa replied, staring thoughtfully at a corner in the ceiling. Mikoto took this opportunity to make a rude gesture at Neon; Neon returned it with equal zest, but quickly resumed her demure demeanor as the Doctor returned his attention to her. "My predecessor was here for about six years; I've been here for the last four. I do have reason to believe that we have quite a number of additional seasons to go before we find everything there is to be found. It's a large site, and very fruitful. Plus, it concludes so abruptly--- it was burned, you understand, and the site was never reinhabited. So pretty much everything has lain in situ for centuries, and now we're here, and seeing what story the artifacts have to tell us." 

"Ancient religion has always been a fascinating subject," interrupted Mikoto, brushing a cookie crumb from her black T-shirt emblazoned with a gory death's head. She looked anything but like a religious fanatic. "What did the ancient Hokage worship? The literature has always been rather vague on that." 

"It's hard to find a subject upon which the literature isn't vague," replied Dr. Aizawa with a cheery laugh. "I wish I could submit articles to the scholarly journals, but the higher-ups are very firm that I not. I suppose they want us to write a definitive book after we've made more progress." 

"But religion," prompted Mikoto. "Were they good Shintoists, or had Buddhism made any inroads in the area yet, or did they practice their own homebrew?" 

"We have uncovered the remnants of the Hokage village's shrine," said Dr. Aizawa. "It was co-dedicated to Amaterasu and her brother, Tsuki-Yumi. If you remember your legends correctly, Amaterasu was the sun-goddess, while Tsuki-Yumi was the moon-god. Their father was Izanagi, an early sky god. However, that shrine was destroyed along with the village." 

"Pity," said Mikoto languidly, not sounding too sorry at all. 

Jisho had leaned forward. "Was there anything of interest in the village shrine?" he queried, unable to leave this tangent so soon. 

"Oh, no, it was quite empty. You know that shrines and such would be the first place looted in case of invasion. The Hokage were quite decimated, and their shrine was quite empty by the time we found it." 

Jisho seemed to deflate a little bit. 

"The reason we ask," said Raiha, raising his voice a little, as Dr. Aizawa seemed rather surprised at Jisho's obvious disappointment, "Is because one of the points we wish to target in our independent study is Amaterasu worship in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries." 

"Oh! I'm assuming you've read Kaizen, Tsubasa, et al? They published one of the most authoritative texts on the subject. It's rather old, but still highly relevant." 

"Of course!" replied Neon, looking shocked that anyone would think she hadn't already looked into such an obvious source. 

"But Amaterasu shrines, temples, whatnot, in the area," pressed Mikoto. "Any others? Not necessarily Hokage, mind you. Just in the area, dating back to somewhere during those times. Surely they're something you'd know about, as you've been here for the last four years." 

Dr. Aizawa's gaze returned to the ceiling corner. "There are a few rural villages with shrines. Amaterasu was a very popular goddess. I can think of one roadside shrine that was abandoned over a hundred years ago... there are one or two other small ones in the area, too. One moderately-sized temple still in use. I can show you the best way to get there... the roads are a mess, though. They got washed out with the last rain. But, yeah. There are four others that I can think of that fit your qualifications… though I don't know how much information you can glean from them. Like I said, only one's still in use, and has anyone you can talk to about them." 

"It doesn't matter," replied Neon offhandedly. She quickly added, noticing his confused expression, "I mean, every little bit helps, and we'd love all the information you can give us." 

Dr. Aizawa beamed and poured himself more tea. 

Joker leaned forward and held out his cup for a refill, too. He had been quite on his best behavior, partly because Neon had threatened him with a punch in the mouth if he messed up their job. Oi, how unfair! He was always business, wasn't he? But Neon hadn't been particularly convinced. 

"It's rather late in the day to go out investigating much today," Joker remarked. That much was true; the roads had been bad in these rural areas and the going had been quite slow for much of their trip. "However, I know you turn over bits of scrolls and pottery inscriptions to Mori-han… do you keep records of what was written? We might be able to look at those for any references to local religion." 

Dr. Aizawa nodded. "Of course! We keep meticulous transcriptions, often accompanied by drawings to show exactly how the scrap or shard originally looked, along with notations of place-of-discovery and other relevant information, before an item leaves our possession. However, they're currently on categorized by date-of-discovery. We need to make copies, eventually, and create a redundant file organized by subject, and perhaps another one organized by timeline, when it's possible to attribute an artifact to a specific point or range in history. That hasn't happened yet, so it might not be too useful for you." 

"Oh, every little bit helps," said Raiha. "We appreciate your support." 

------------- 

"Joker, could you possibly have come up with a more boring idea?" asked Mikoto scathingly. It wasn't quite the way she had asked it--- there had been a number of colorful expletives added in an adjectival sort of way ---but it was the general gist of what she meant to convey. 

It was now nine at night, and they were sitting on the floor in one of the libraries, with great stacks of manilla folders and binders scattered around in a wide circle. 

"Most Jyushinshuu aren't afraid of papercuts," replied Joker, smirking. It was fun in a much different sort of way to get Mikoto riled than it was to get Neon riled. Truth be told, he had thought it was a pretty poor idea of how to spend an afternoon and evening, too, once Dr. Aizawa had proudly showed them the massive stacks of neatly-organized records. He hadn't thought there would have been so much of a written record, especially after Aizawa had anguished over the lack of Hokage writings. He was beginning to understand why Aizawa had said such a thing; what writings that had survived were clearly unworthy of withstanding the odds of time, and were achingly boring more often than not. However, he would bite off his tongue before admitting the mistake to Mikoto, and took his pleasure from her irritation. 

"Makes you wish that junk like this had an 'automatic decay' default, and only the important stuff survived," remarked Jisho. Out of all of them, he was probably the least suited to such a task, but he set aside one folder and picked up a new one, dutifully flipping through the neatly-typed and illustrated pages and skimming their contents. 

"Makes you wish madougu would beep if you lost them, like a phone or a remote," corrected Neon. "If we just knew where it was--- or what this Nakunaru looked like--- or really, anything about it… it would be so much easier." 

"Well, hopefully, there's something hidden in here that will make sense to us, that they might have missed," said Raiha resolutely, stuffing a number of flipped-through folders into a binder and tying it shut with a string before reaching for a fresh box of binders. 

"Hey, catch this--- I found a haiku!" said Joker. He scrutinized it, then added, "It's not very good haiku, though. Very amateurish." 

"Hmph. I have a shopping list," grumbled Mikoto. 

"I think I have half a letter requesting something from someone else," said Neon. "I think someone owed rice in back taxes or something." She didn't seem too thrilled. 

Raiha let out a low whistle. "I think I found something!" he said excitedly. 

"A grocery receipt? Dry cleaning bill?" inquired Joker. 

"No, no, look at this," he said, and they crowded around to get a good look at the paper he held. "It says that these were part of a scroll, scraps of which survived." His eyes scanned over it as he read, "'...It was eyed covetously by the members of the Touzouku Clan...' and then a bit later it says '...jealous, they fell upon him to rob him of his...' and then '...su was struck dead...' and then '...appeared as they laid their unclean hands upon...'" 

"And?" prompted Mikoto. 

"That's it. That's all that survived." 

"That could refer to anything," she said skeptically. "Someone had something that someone else wanted, and so they tried to kill him for it, and someone died--- either the owner, or one of the thieves, you can't tell." 

Joker, however, made an impatient noise. "Flip the sheet over," he grumbled. "There's writing on the back." 

"Oh! So there is!" said Raiha, blushing. His eyes widened, and embarrassment was forgotten. "There's one more scrap. It says, '...for none but the chosen one may touch the madougu over time and space without consequence...'" 

His voice trailed off. 

"The Nakunaru still isn't specifically named," said Mikoto, though she sounded rather begrudging to admit that the last few hours of tedious boredom hadn't been a total waste of time. 

"But it fits with what we know," interrupted Neon. "Wasn't the madougu so dangerous that it had to be kept away from ordinary use?" 

"And how many madougu were created that had power over space and time? If they were common, there would be no need to use the time travel technique," added Jisho, who seemed pleased with himself for offering such a solid theory. 

"So what if it does refer to the Nakunaru? It still doesn't tell us anything we didn't know before we started this stupid mess," said Mikoto, again, freely interspersing expletives to color her otherwise-drab dialogue. "So some guy owned it, someone from another clan wanted it, someone died, and the madougu wasn't happy about being touched by unclean hands." 

"It's an excellent warning and an excellent reminder," said Raiha stiffly. "Are your hands clean? Are any of our hands clean? How does the madougu define clean? How does the madougu define chosen or worthy? Even if we do find it, it's going to be downright dangerous to try and take it from wherever it's been sleeping all these years. What if it might not want to be found?" 

"That's stupid. Look at all the madougu we've managed to successfully gather. You don't see any of them forming opinions," said Mikoto scathingly. 

"Well, then, Mikoto, I'm sure you'll be our number one volunteer to carry it home," said Joker, looking quite pleased, and even more so when she looked discomfited by the thought.

~ to be continued ~ 


End file.
